3.1 Runner-up Tournament - The Al Gore Cup
Named for the patron saint of all people finishing second
who feel they should have been the winner, the Gore Cup
features all four second-place teams in a separate
tournament. The four teams will be seeded from 1-4,
regardless of conference. Each series will be best-of-seven
games, which will correspond to the same random-game
schedule as the championship series. Between rounds, the
winning teams will have the opportunity to change their
lineups. The higher seeds in each round will get home-field
advantage.
The winner of the Gore Cup will have an opportunity to
grab an extra team for free in the next season – either an
Orphan team in a returning league or a new team in a brand
new league. This benefit is not transferable to any other
existing team that they may already own.
3.2 Also-rans Tournament - The Bottom-Feeder Open
The eight remaining teams will be seeded 1-8 by regular
season record, regardless of division or conference, and
compete in a separate tournament. The teams will be
re-seeded between each round. The higher seed earns
home-field advantage.
The first two rounds will correspond to the same random
game selection as the Conference Championships. These
series will be best-of-three and will follow a
home-away-home format.
After the first round, no roster change will be
permitted. The games for the second round will start with
the FOURTH pitcher in the rotation, regardless of whether
the teams played two or three games in the first series.
The championship round will be best-of-five (2-2-1) and
will follow the same random game schedule as the League
Championship. The two teams will be able to change their
lineups before this set of games.
The winner of the Bottom-Feeder Open will have an
opportunity to grab an extra team for free in the next
season – either an Orphan team in a returning league or a
new team in a brand new league. This benefit is not
transferable to any other existing team that they may
already own.
3.3 The Benchwarmer Bash
All league champions will advance to another tournament,
to be run in October and November, which will crown a single
champion for all of Benchwarmer Baseball. As BWB grows, the
format of this tournament will vary slightly from year to
year. In some seasons, to get an even number of teams, some
wild cards may be added.
Starting in 2009, leagues are grouped into
Federations. Teams will advance to a Federation championship
before moving to the BWB Championship Round. If the game
continues to grow, each Federation will be subdivided into
4-league Associations, and an Association tournament will
occur before the Federation round.
Fpr the last several seasons, this has been the format for the
Benchwarmer Bash (updated Mar 2018
to reflect current number of leagues in federations):
- 8 Federation Championships. The
Federations currently have different numbers of leagues (7
or 8). The
Federation Championships are an 8-team round, so to make
that work, some federations will have a wiild card.
Seeds are set by their BWB Power Index within their
federation. Teams are seeded in Power Index
order, regardless of whether league champion or a wild
card. The higher
seed will have home-field advantage, but in matchups
between a wild card and a league champion, the league
champ will get home-field, even if a lower seed.
Brackets are set at the beginning of the federation round
- teams are not re-seeded. Each series is best-of-7.
- 8-League Federations: The eight league
champions are automatically in the Federation round.
There will be no wild cards. Teams are
seeded 1-8 solely on their federation Power Index
ranking.
- 7-League Federations: The seven league
champions are automatically in the Federation round.
Among the remaining teams in the federation, the top
team based on BWB Power Index ranking within the
federation will be the single wild card. Teams are
seeded 1-8 solely on their federation Power Index
ranking.
- Benchwarmer Bash. The eight teams advancing as
Federation Champions move to the Quarterfinal Round of the
Benchwarmer Bash. Teams are seeded 1-8 based upon
their BWB Power Index ranking in all of Benchwarmer
Baseball. The eight teams are placed into a standard
bracket (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc). The winners advance
to the semifinals, and then to the Bash Championship.
Each series is best-of-7. There is no re-seeding in
the tournament. The higher seed in any series has
the home-field advantage.
Coming in 2019 - the number of leagues in each Federation
will start to exceed 8, so we'll make the move to
Association champions as the first step.
The winner of the Benchwarmer Bash will receive a free
entry for the championship team for an extra two seasons.
The runner up will get one free season. These prizes
are cumulative, so a league champion (winning 2 free seasons)
who then becomes the Bash Champion (earning another 2 free years)
will play that same team for free for the next four
seasons.
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